About the Play:

33 Variations is a full-length drama by Moisés Kaufman. In parallel tales of obsession, musicologist Katherine Brandt takes on the role of sleuth to uncover the motivation behind Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, a series of 33 variations on an ordinary waltz. Why did Beethoven spend many of his last years tinkering obsessively with a trite little waltz dashed off by Diabelli, a composer he felt was beneath him? Especially recommended for school and contest use.

33 Variations is about a present-day musicologist desperate to discover why her hero, Ludwig van Beethoven, spent so much time at the end of his life obsessing over a third-rate waltz. Katherine Brandt, a musicologist who is fighting Lou Gehrig's disease, becomes obsessed with unravelling the riddle of Beethoven's late period, specifically his rush to compose 33 variations on Anton Diabelli's humble but sturdy waltz at a time when he was becoming progressively deaf. Katherine rejects helpful overtures from her daughter, Clara, and travels to Bonn in Germany, visiting the Beethoven archives in an attempt to uncover the truth behind the variations. A mother coming to terms with her daughter. A composer coming to terms with his genius. And, even though they're separated by 200 years, these two people share an obsession that might, even just for a moment, make time stand still. Drama, memory and music combine to transport you from present-day New York to nineteenth-century Austria in this extraordinary American play about passion, parenthood and the moments of beauty that can transform a life.

33 Variations premiered in 2007 at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The play premiered on Broadway in 2009 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, starring Jane Fonda as Katherine. The role marked her return to Broadway at the age of 71 and after a nearly half-century absence. Since then the play had regional premieres at professional theatres across the US and has been mounted by high schools, colleges, and community theatres.

Why you should read the play: great scenes for a female and male in their 20s, two females 40-60, and two males 30-50. Some monologues for a female 40-60 and possible monologues for a female and a male in their 20s.

Cast: 4 female, 4 male

What people say:

"You don't have to know Beethoven from Bach to find yourself thoroughly absorbed by the theatricality with which Kaufman has tied a historic event – the legendary mystery surrounding one of Beethoven's compositions – to a drama about a fatally ill Beethoven scholar, her relationship with her daughter and the daughter's burgeoning romance." — CurtainUp

"It's a compellingly original and thoroughly watchable play for today that deserves to remembered." — Talkin' Broadway

About the Playwright:

Moisés Kaufman is a Tony and Emmy-nominated American director and award-winning playwright. Born to Jewish parents in Venezuela, he performed as an actor with the Thespis Theater Ensemble, one of the country's foremost experimental theatre companies. He moved to New York City to study theatre directing at New York University. He is also the co-founder and artistic director of Tectonic Theater Project, a theater company based in New York City. In 2016, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. Both he and Tectonic Theater Project continue to be active in the New York City and global theatre scene to this day.